There are a number of factors that will determine the Oilers' fortunes. Here are the three biggest questions for Edmonton heading into the season:

Will Connor McDavid live up to expectations? Not since Sidney Crosby has a player garnered as much attention entering the NHL. McDavid is considered a generational talent, and the focus heading into his rookie season will be on his offensive production. Crosby had 39 goals and 102 points as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Penguins, which might be lofty goals for McDavid.

"My expectations on myself exceed any of those put on me," McDavid said at the draft. "It's something I can't really worry about. Just have to worry about making sure I'm playing my game and doing all that. If I'm meeting my expectations, chances are I'll meet yours as well."

McDavid will have a strong supporting cast, including No. 1 picks Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov, which should take some pressure off him.

As far as I'm concerned, it's just a bit too early for fantasy hockey talk, but the Hockey News's Matt Larkin spent a good bit of time compiling the Hockey News's top 200 fantasy hockey player list, and seven Red Wings players made the cut:

43. Pavel Datsyuk, C: Quietly topped a point per game for second time in past three years. May miss first month, though. Watch the injury reports.

...

48. Henrik Zetterberg, C: Doesn’t score goals like he used to but still piles up points in Detroit.

...

61. Tomas Tatar, LW: A year ago, Gus Nyquist was Wings’ top young talent. Now it’s Tatar, who always had the better pedigree.

This inspired us to look at the most common and distinctive monikers in the NHL by generation, starting with team rosters as of the summer of 2015 and working our way back in 30-year intervals to the old tyme hockey days of 1925. The results were indeed revealing.

Although some names such as Mike, Dave, Bill and Bob have remained common, there have been distinct trends through the years. For example, you don't see many Gords, Dicks, Cecils or Wilfreds these days, but there are more Ryans, Jakes, Tylers and Brandons. And based on this year’s most popular names for babies, we’ll likely see more Liams, Noahs, Masons, Ethans and Logans skating around NHL rinks in coming years. Meanwhile the league’ ubiquitous nicknames of yore have given way to initials (P.K., T.J. etc.).

NOTE: For the sake of our tabulations, variations of a name (e.g. Mark/Marc/Marcus, Jon/John/Johnny, Nick/Nicholas/Nicklas) were lumped together. We’ve also included a nod to European, Scandavian and Russian players for they too provide a glimpse into the NHL's ever-changing demographics.

2015

TOP FIVE: Mike (26), John (25), Mark (22), Matt (21), Ryan (20)

PLUS/MINUS: John (+12), Matt (+21) and Ryan (+19) replaced Dave, Bob and Rich/Rick in the top five from 1984-85 when three Mats (Naslund, Hallin, Thelin) but no Matts or Matthews, and one Ryan (Walter), played in the NHL. In the iconic first names department, there is now one Wayne (Simmonds) and one Sid (Crosby) on NHL rosters but no Mario or Gordie.

Jack Campbell is entering a “prove-it” year with the Dallas Stars organization. So to prepare, he came home.

“I love being back home in Port Huron, it just helps my mind so much,” Campbell said. “It’s so relaxing. I’m never in a rush. I’m just kind of hanging out and enjoying the beautiful scenery, so it’s good.”

The 23-year-old goaltender said he’s spent more time in Port Huron this summer than he has since 2010, the summer before his first Ontario Hockey League season in Windsor. It’s not just about relaxing, either. He’s teamed back up with strength and conditioning coach Mike Pearson to prepare for the Stars training camp, which begins on Sept. 19.

“Every time I come out here, I’m getting stronger, faster, more flexible,” Campbell said. “I’ve been really working on my body this summer. More importantly, I come out and work with coach because it really helps my mind. I’ve never felt more at ease and confident at the same time. It’s been a great summer.”

When it makes its Winter Olympic debut in men’s hockey in 2018 on home ice, South Korea will have to take on powerhouses Canada and the Czech Republic in the group stage.

Most hockey observers won’t give South Korea even a puncher’s chance, but count Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), as among the more optimistic ones.

“I have a good feeling,” Fasel told Yonhap News Agency on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, where he will attend the 128th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session as a member of its Executive Board. The IOC on Friday will vote on the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics between Beijing and Almaty.

“In sports, you never know. I think they will be competitive,” Fasel added. “We will help Korea the best we can (so) that they can have a competitive team.”

South Korea was awarded a spot in the men’s tournament as the host nation, with the eastern alpine town of PyeongChang set to stage the country’s first Winter Games. The IIHF seeds countries based on the final 2015 rankings, and the 23rd-ranked South Korea ended up with No. 1-ranked Canada, No. 6 Czech Republic and No. 7 Switzerland in Group A....

The IIHF is “still working” to make sure the world’s top professionals will be in PyeongChang, Fasel said.

“The Olympics are the best stage for promoting our sport,” he added. “I really expect and hope the NHL will be there.”

He got to watch his oldest son, 9-year-old Teddy, take part in the camp, and then signed autographs for 30 minutes for the 75 campers in attendance.

"I haven't had as much a chance to watch him because we're in the process of moving right now," Blashill said of one of his three children. "But it's a cool thing to be able to see him. I think he likes daddy on this side of the glass and not on the ice with him, so it works out good."

Blashill said his family has sold their home in East Grand Rapids and purchased a home in Plymouth. They will complete the move in the next couple of weeks.

"I feel blessed to be a part of the organization for three years and to get an opportunity before we leave town here and touch base with some of the young kids here," he said. "I think there's a great connection with the Red Wings and Griffins, and I think as you go through the state of Michigan there are Red Wings fans everywhere. I just don't think this is censured to just one region of the state. So it's' good to be able to touch base."

Today I will continue my summer sabermetrics series by looking a team Corsi ratings. This is the difference between attempted shots (shots on goal, blocked shots and missed shots) between a team and their opponents in 5 on 5 situations. It is important because it measures puck possession. This is a repeatable portion of hockey team success or failure. It doesn't measure everything about a given team. Special teams, goaltending and shooting percentages are not measured at all in Corsi studies. It should be that the better Corsi teams are the better teams in the NHL and the worse Corsi teams are the worse teams in the NHL. Those teams that are clear exceptions to that rule should, assuming roster continuity, likely regress toward the position their Corsi predicts next season.

One month after the Los Angeles Kings terminated the contract of forward Mike Richards, no charges have been laid and the NHL Players’ Association has yet to make a decision on whether to file a grievance on the matter.

Sgt. Bert Paquet, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba, said Thursday there is “still an active investigation” into Richards.

According to a Winnipeg Sun report from June 30, Richards is “under investigation for alleged possession of a restricted substance while attempting to cross the Canada-U.S. border." The Sun reported a man was “held in custody … for at least four hours after allegedly trying to import” prescription painkiller OxyContin on June 17.

The Kings placed Richards on unconditional waivers on June 28, then moved to terminate his contract on June 29, citing a “material breach.” They have yet to discuss the grounds for terminating his contract.

In the month since then, the NHLPA has continued to gather facts and information, but has yet to decide on filing a grievance. Richards and the NHLPA have 60 days to file a grievance contesting the termination, or until Aug. 29. Whether charges are laid could impact the NHLPA decision to move forward with a grievance.

“There is no guarantee charges will be laid,” Paquet, the RCMP spokesman, said. “There has been a lot of interest in this case. If charges were laid, we would likely announce the information publicly.”

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